Richard Gere

Sat 6th Sep - 7:30PM

Gentleman or gigolo, Gere is the original sex symbol, and a classy actor too. Pretty Woman put his career back on track, and things have been rosy ever since.

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Richard Gere
born: 31-08-1949
birth place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A versatile and well-established actor, Gere is the second of five children, born to Homer, an insurance salesman and Doris, a housewife, both strict Methodists.

An early interest in music found Gere playing a number of instruments (he excelled in piano, guitar, bass and trumpet) and writing music for school performances, at North Cyracuse Central High School.

Graduating in 1967, Gere won a Gymnastics scholarship to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He majored in Philosophy but left after only two years, in order to pursue acting. Gere performed theatrically in New York and Seattle, before winning the lead role of Danny Zuko in the London production of ‘Grease’ (1973). Following this, he had the privilege of being one of the few Americans ever to work with Britain’s Young Vic Theatre, in ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ (1974).

Back in the United States, Gere’s screen debut came in the form of a tiny part, playing a pimp, in ‘Report to the Commissioner’ (1975). This was followed by a television role of State trooper in ‘Strike Force’ (1975) and then another movie, ‘Baby Blue Marine’ (1976) in which he played a Raider. He had to wait a further three years for onscreen recognition, when he played a violent hustler opposite Diane Keaton, in ‘Looking for Mr Goodbar’ (1977).

Gere found new interests, when he travelled with his girlfriend, beautiful Brazilian painter, Sylvia Martins, to Nepal in 1978, meeting many Tibetan monks and lamas. Humanitarianism was to become one of his life’s passions. In the early 1980s, Gere travelled with a doctor to refugee camps in Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, during the war.

He continued to work in both theatre and film, establishing himself as an adaptable and worthy actor. 1978 brought his first starring role, in the lavish epic ‘Days of Heaven’, which itself received significant critical praise. 'Yanks' (1979) however, was a box-office disappointment. On Broadway, he portrayed a decadent, manipulative concentration camp prisoner in ‘Bent’, for which he received the 1980 Theatre World Award. However, it was 'American Gigolo' (1980) that established Gere as a major screen star. This was closely followed by further acclaim for his leading role in ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ (1982), opposite Debra Winger.

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